anger

Have you ever had days where emotions get the better of you ? Speaking personally, if I am faced with someone who is continually nagging and picking holes in my attempts to do something , eventually , I will feel angry and respond negatively . This is a natural emotion… anger. It is what makes us human. Yet the aim is to focus on our anger and frustration and to turn it into something positive.

The Angry Jesus by Filipino artist Lina Pontebon, is an artist’s attempt to show Jesus expressing Anger. We read in the gospels that Jesus only ever expressed anger once outside the temple in Jerusalem, where the anger was based on power, that is power over someone else as the Roman authorities over people who could not stand up for themselves

There are lots of incidents where power is witnessed and observed over someone else:- Bullying in the school playground , on a daily basis in a work environment , domestic violence, physical , financial , mental sexual and social abuse… the list can become endless

However, Jesus didn’t only get angry – he acted. He acted by bringing it into the light, to expose it, to speak and condemn it, and for me this is what is behind this picture of the angry Jesus. Jesus expressed righteous anger over the selfishness of the people “He said to them, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves’, (Matthew 21:13), here his anger was directed at unmistakable injustice.

The Bible rightly teaches us to curb or anger yet, have we become numb and apathetic to the power in the world and in society? Are they issues which make you angry that you could do something about in a focussed way e.g. a fundraising event for a charity, sign a petition, get involved in a local project or group.

Although Jesus was tested in the desert , did Jesus feel angry and frustrated about being in the wilderness away from the power and injustice or was he relieved to have left it aside albeit for a short time?

I am a minister for the United Reformed Church and I am interested in nurturing Spirituality and faith in individuals and congregations. I have lots of questions about Faith, Jesus and what is means to be a Christian in the 21st century.